Stepping next to the release of Dune: Part 2, we were able to catch a glimpse into Dune: Awakening by spending time with Funcom, the development team, firsthand. Believe it or not, Dune: Awakening was supposed to be released with or before the first Dune movie, but such is game development. After attending the Dune: Awakening Direct with Funcom, we were able to write down some notable talking points delivered about the game’s features, gameplay, and more that have not been released, other than what you may see in the trailers or videos. I want to mention that we couldn’t play the game during this time.
You can watch the full Direct here, which offers a deeper glimpse with interviews from the development team from Funcom. Also, all content shown is not CGI but in-game or in the engine.
The Deep Desert, PvP, Events
If you are unaware at this point, Dune: Awakening is labeled as a survival MMO in an alternative timeline disconnected from the book series. The game begins when you need to look for water, shelter, shade, etc., on the harsh desert planet of Arrakis. Presumably, your first test will be with a sandworm attack, thus giving you a real glimpse into what life is like in your new home.
Other than this simple survival premise, there are so many layers to the game, as stated by Funcom, such as the concept of the deep desert, other than a “safe area,” where you can build your base and socialize in peace.
The deep desert is where you will find most of the gameplay, such as PVP events fighting for Spice or resources against different houses, which are planned to be all player-decided groups, so you choose which faction to fight for. Funcom also stated that they expect new players, once spawned into the world, to unwillingly get scooped up by groups of players looking to build an enormous army, and again, the player can decide what fate lies in their hands.
More about gameplay in the desert, this is your battleground for all war against players online, pillaging the enemy, but most importantly, locations on the map to fight for such a shipwrecks, caves and mines (almost similar to fallout vaults to offer visual breaks from the desert biome), and more. Amongst these places could also be unfriendly AI/NPC’s ready to battle or natural hazards, making it more challenging to harvest what you need.
The most notable aspect of the Deep Desert is a weekly map change curated by the idea of a great sandstorm beyond the “shield wall” (referred to in the Dune book and movie by the natural rock structures guarding the Fremen against the harsh weather of Arrakis). This weekly change will offer new dunes, biome layouts, PvP competitive missions, and general differences to keep the game fresh. Since players will be fighting against the clock to gather resources and Spice from desert locations, this creates a bit of urgency to play the game.
Funcom offered a verbal glimpse into what these PvP locations might consist of, in which one of these places goes by the name of “The Blight,” where you might find rabid NPCs living and hallucinating off of mushroom spores.
Lastly, if you are wondering if the size of the desert might bore you, keep in mind that with Unreal Engine 5, the game will use server meshing to seamlessly link the player to connecting worlds equal in mass without any load time. Games like this couldn’t have been possible years ago, so seeing such practical use of this technology is respectable. These servers are expected to hold thousands and thousands of players at once.
Intel Points, Base Building, Customization, and Specialization
Funcom gave insight into how players interact with the game, such as different classes and specializations. This refers to gear for light, medium, or heavy things. Players can choose what gear they like from what they acquire along their journey, but all classes will be identifiable regardless of customization. A heavy will always look like a heavy, or a light will always look like a light. Of course, each class has its own play style, such as a light acting like a scout with a sniper on top of a dune or rocky lookout.
Along the planet of Arrakis, players will have quests that can lead them down to different political choices, guild offerings, and other decisions that can shape your players’ gear, skill trees, weapons, abilities, and more. You decide what your narrow path forward looks like in Dune: Awakening.
Learning new skills and using new weapons do not come for free. Another driving factor for Dune: Awakening is the need to acquire intel points. Intel points are gathered by completing missions and events, earning Spice, and more (basically experience points). These points are imperative to upgrading, crafting, customizing, base building, and all of the essentials to your guild excelling on Arrakis, thus creating scarcity and strong reasoning to pillage your online competitors or take all of the Spice for yourself—those who control the spice control the universe.
Side note, players will have the ability to customize weapon and armor skins to add that much needed layer of personal touch to each warrior in the desert. Base building is quite the unique intricacy, whereas bases are crafted after completing objectives and obtaining intel points, resources, and things of this nature to exhaust your findings.
It seems this crafting process has much to offer, allowing the players to build adjacent to natural structures without any limits on geometry. Think of Minecraft; if you have the resources to make it and the space to build it, the game will enable players to be fully creative in their structures.
Bases are best built within the town shield wall or safe area, but bases can be built everywhere in the deep desert. Just remember your bases will be swept away within a week in the deep desert, but the safe area is forever peaceful. Additionally, it was told that bases can be built with shields to protect you from harm, missiles, invasions, etc.
Player Exchange, 1MGCs, Ornithopters, and What Does It Mean For Gameplay?
You may ask why I would build bases in the desert or how feasible it is given the week’s time frame. Dune: Awakening improvises upon multiplayer survival, providing a player-to-player exchange where users can sell their structures to earn in-game currency. This factor, after additionally saying that you can instantly spawn entire bases or structures via the exchange, and with your earned resources, that building a fort in the deep desert can be a means of one-upping your opponents in locational strategy. It’s a war tactic to spend resources for a structure closer to the objective, creating a more dynamic flow of geographic dominance. One step closer to getting the Spice.
Secondly, the player exchange offers more gameplay than combat-based PvP. Some people just want to support their brothers in arms but in the backline. Users can stay at base, craft vehicles known as 1MGCs or Ornithopters, craft weapons and armor to be beaten up, and even earn the team resources by selling goods and blueprints on the marketplace. Dune: Awakening has gameplay for all types of gamers.
Referring to vehicles, players can craft and customize their 1MGC and Ornithopter. Especially the 1MGC, you can change the color to your preference or customize inventory slots. Going full circle, a dominant faction or guild looks like one that can maintain a deep desert base, with soldiers on the front line, while others are crafting necessary defenses and offensive benefits.
The Overarching Gameplay Premise
Other than survival as a core mechanic, like in the Dune book and movie series, political power amongst the houses and controlling the Spice overall is paramount. The gameplay of Dune: Awakening opens up with baseline survival but slowly develops as the player adapts to the planet of Arrakis to more than just your average base-building game. The rise of physical ability within the player leads to the lust for domination amongst factions, bringing a political power layer to provide a loose “end game.” Players will eventually compete in events for power above other guilds, benefiting houses that succeed economically and geographically until overthrown.
Again, as stated previously, you may not personally want to rise to power and be the face of your guild (if that’s not your style), but you can still help your team to victory back at your base by crafting and defending.
Summing it Up
Dune: Awakening certainly feels like a large project from such a small team like Funcom. It would be a fantastic feat to pull off such a multifaceted game. It is taking a much longer to develop than anticipated, but better craft this enormous undertaking of a title the right way so it plays the way they want it to.
Dune: Awakening is coming to PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S, with no set release date yet.
